Nitin Nagorao Bodhankar v. The State Of Maharashtra Through Its Secretary And Another
2025:BHC-AUG:24071-DB 1 940 WP 10944-2025 & Anr
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
BENCH AT AURANGABAD 940 WRIT PETITION NO. 10944 OF 2025 Nitin Nagorao Bodhankar
VERSUS
The State Of Maharashtra Through Its Secretary And Another ...
Advocate for the Petitioner : Mr. Sunil Mahadevappa Vibhute AGP for Respondents-State: Mr. A.A.A.Khan ...
AND 941 WRIT PETITION NO. 10945 OF 2025 Vidhya Shankarrao Sidhewad
VERSUS
The State Of Maharashtra Through Its Secretary And Others ...
Advocate for the Petitioner : Mr. Sunil Mahadevappa Vibhute AGP for Respondents-State: Mr. A.A.A.Khan ...
CORAM
: R. G. AVACHAT & ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, JJ.
Dated : SEPTEMBER 09, 2025 PER COURT : - 1.
The petitioners in both these petitions are challenging the common order passed by the respondent No.2 - Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Verification Committee, Kinwat Head Quarter at Chh. Sambhajinagar, thereby invalidating their caste claim of belonging to 'Mannervarlu' - Scheduled Tribe. 2.
The learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that the father of the petitioners in Writ Petition No. 10944 of 2025 namely Nagorao
2 940 WP 10944-2025 & Anr Bodhankar has already been granted a validity certificate on 02/12/2008 by the Caste Scrutiny Committee itself. He further submits that the oldest document placed before the respondent Caste Scrutiny Committee is of the year 1954 and belongs to the grandfather of the petitioner in Writ Petition No.10944 of 2025. It is further the contention of the petitioners that the Caste Scrutiny Committee has not properly considered the record placed before it by the Headmaster of the school. He thus urged that the order passed by the Caste Scrutiny Committee be quashed and set aside. 3.
The learned AGP, on the other hand, has pointed out that there is interpolation in the certificate in the record, which only shows that the petitioners belong to 'Mannervarlu' caste. 4.
We have considered the submissions advanced by the learned Counsel for the petitioners as well as the learned AGP. We are of the considered view that once the father of the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 10944 of 2025 who is also a paternal uncle of petitioner in Writ Petition No.10945 of 2025 has already been granted caste validity certificate by the Caste Scrutiny Committee, and there is no dispute regarding the relationship, we are inclined to allow these writ petitions. We thus pass the following order :
ORDER
a) The writ petitions are partly allowed.
3 940 WP 10944-2025 & Anr b) The impugned judgment and order dated 04/09/2025 passed by the Caste Scrutiny Committee, invalidating the caste claim of the petitioners belonging to 'Mannervarlu' - Scheduled Tribe in both the Writ Petitions are quashed and set aside. c) The respondent No. 2 - Caste Scrutiny Committee shall immediately issue tribe validity certificates to the petitioners as belonging to 'Mannervarlu' - Scheduled Tribe in the prescribed proforma.
d) The validity certificates of the petitioners shall be subject to the outcome of verification to be undertaken by the Caste Scrutiny Committee of validity holders on whom the petitioners are relying.
e) The petitioners shall not be entitled to claim equities. f) With these directions, the petitions stand disposed of. ( ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, J. ) ( R. G. AVACHAT, J. ) vj gawade/-.